Safety and Risk Management : Borkowski Articles

This duty is the most obvious. As a coach, you not only have a duty to instruct people on how to be great players and win championships; you must teach the proper techniques to lower the chance of injury. The continual repetition of fundamental skills is one the major, and too often neglected, ways of lowering injuries in sports.

If you don't teach keeping your head up in the game, or to wear a mouthpiece, you are increasing the chance of injury. That is negligent.

Consider the following:

1. Teach only that which you know. It you don’t know it - learn it - before you try and teach it to someone else.
2. Teach only when you know the rules of the activity. . Yes coach, you are a teacher. You are supposed to know all the rules, especially as they pertain to safety.
3. Continue to improve your knowledge by study, degree work and clinics.
4. Teaching is progression. It is step one to step two, to review and combine step one and two with step three. Some of the basic steps are:
   1. Demonstrate or have the skill demonstrated.
   2. Break down the components.
   3. Analyze the components.
   4. Practice the parts of the skill.
   5. Combine two parts: then three parts until you are practicing the entire skill.
   6. Offer suggestions.
   7. Walk through the skill.
   8. Increase the speed of the skill
   9. Do the skill under limited pressure.
   10. Increase that pressure.
   11. Offer feedback
   12. Use the skill (s) under normal circumstances.
   13. And ask yourself the following questions:
       
       
       1. It the instruction appropriate for the age
       2. Do I include warnings in my teaching
       3. Am I trying to teach something I do not know
       4. Do I continually re-check the knowledge and understanding of the skills
       5. Do I plan my practices
       6. Do I keep records of my practices
       7. Do I attend clinics
       8. Do I demand appropriate attire and equipment
       9. Can I justify my teaching techniques
          
          

   A college freshman, who had never played rugby, was recruited the day of a game to give the rugby club a full team. He very practiced a day with the team. His only connection with the game was his roommate played rugby. The freshman was seriously injured during the first ten minutes of play. Progressive instruction was definitely not in place.
   
   

5. Avoid teaching activities or actions that are inappropriate. This means avoid teaching how to cheat or intentionally harm another person.
6. Avoid coercion."Coaches motivate; they do not embarrass or intimidate."
7. Avoid the desire to cut short the instruction aspect of your program.
   Review the basics every year, with every player.
8. Get to know your players. I know, this one is a no brainer. Yet, how many times have you hear a coach ask prior to a "B" game, "We need a hook, anyone every play hooker" If you are not sure someone can handle a position, don’t place him/her into that position.
9. Follow the rules of your club. A high school ‘s team manual stated no student could play without a physical examination. The coach let four boys, with exams, "practice." The manual said, "play," and he interrupted that as in a "game," during his deposition. Besides, only one of the four boys was injured during contact practice. This is not good instruction.
10. Keep competition as fair as possible. The issue of miss-matching people is a strong component of good coaching. Skill, experience, maturity, height, weight, age, sex, one's mental state and the activity itself, all play a part in this attempt to seek reasonable participation. It does not mean all participates must be the same size, weight, age and so on.
11. Coaching is a battle against time. Do not however, take shortcuts when it comes to safety.
12. Ask yourself, is there a better and safer way to teach this skill, this activity
13. The organization and administration also have a role in coaching the coaches.
    Their first duty is to select competent coaches.

Plan the activity; prepare the participants, yourself and the environment. A coach is a teacher, with baggy pants and a worn rugby jersey.